Grout is commonly used between tiles, not only to connect and seal adjacent tiles, but also to enhance the overall appearance of tiled surfaces. Following initial installation of lined grout between tiled surfaces, the newly laid grout between the tiles is clean, unsoiled and presents a generally bright and fresh appearance. However, as time passes the tile surface is exposed to day-to-day activity which causes it to lose its initially clean and bright finish. It becomes darkened, dirty, mildewed, and stained. No matter how clean the actual tiles are which make up the tile surface, the adjacent grout which is dull, dirty, or stained grout will substantially detract from the overall appearance.
Cleaning soiled, mildewed, and stained grout, especially grout located between tile, has always been difficult. Although spray on or other liquid cleaners are advertised as grout cleaning agents, these, in and of themselves, are not truly effective. Hand scrubbing or scouring grout between tiles with a grout brush, perhaps in combination with these cleaning agents, is the only effective way of cleaning grout.
Manual grout brushes routinely have a single set of bristles and require rigorous back and forth hand motion against the soiled grout. This obviously becomes very strenuous for the user. It also results in the effectiveness of the cleaning operation to diminish quickly. Moreover, hand scrubbing requires that the user's hands be quite close to the grout and tiles. Over a prolonged period, the user, at some point, will scrape his or her fingers or knuckles on the grout or tile surface.
In addition, prior grout brushes have only one scrubbing surface which typically comprises hard, rigid bristles for cleaning ingrained dirt and stains in the rough, hardened grout material. Such brushes are not designed to be used on tile surfaces, on which dirt tends to be easier to remove. In fact, such hard bristle grout brushes should not be used to scrub and clean tile surfaces, which tend to be smooth, shiny, and as a result, more susceptible to being scratched or otherwise damaged by the action of hard bristles. As a result, after grout surfaces are cleaned with one brush, it is necessary that a second brush be used for the tile surface. Even the powered brushes which are used to a limited extent to clean grout, only have a single brush surface.